Craftsteak, 2009 and Beyond

[weinoo]

In another Colicchio move, Flo Fabricant reported in yesterday's NY Times, that

He refashioned the front room at Craftsteak into a paradise for dainty diners. Small plates, each less than $15, include a half portion (6 ounces) of dry-aged strip steak, with fries, for $14.50. Small desserts and half-pints of beer are also served...

[ulterior epicure]

In another Colicchio move, Flo Fabricant reported in yesterday's NY Times, that

He refashioned the front room at Craftsteak into a paradise for dainty diners. Small plates, each less than $15, include a half portion (6 ounces) of dry-aged strip steak, with fries, for $14.50. Small desserts and half-pints of beer are also served...

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To me, that's almost the perfect size for dinner, anyway. Thanks for this, weinoo!

[BryanZ]

Have been meaning to check out Halfsteak and wanted to go yesterday since Tom was supposed to be there with all the cheftestants watching part 1 of the finale of Top Chef. But, naturally, I couldn't get anyone to go with me. Woe is me. I'll start a thread once I finally make it, however.

[weinoo]

I think he REALLY needed to do this here, because the last time we were at John Dory, the place was dead.

[BryanZ]

Craftsteak is located at 85 10th Ave., around 16th St.

2009 would seem to be a tough year for a steakhouse where most steaks come in at over $50. We're not talking about steaks for two or three here; a simple, single serving of beef at $50 is on the low end of the price spectrum.

I'm not really one for steakhouses and I've never eaten in Craftsteak's main dining room. The debut of Halfsteak, a restaurant-within-a-restaurant concept in the bar area of Crafsteak, however piqued my interest. Much like Damon: Frugal Fridays (D:FF) attempted to make use of Craft's oft-empty private dining room, Halfsteak's new offerings are putting butts in seats that might otherwise go unfilled.

The menu

Having just eaten at D:FF a couple weeks ago, I feel that comparison is unavoidable. I'll say it straight out, however, I enjoyed Damon: Frugal Friday a good deal more.

This isn't to say that eating at Halfsteak is unpleasant. It's really quite good and a fair value. I just think that the offerings at D:FF appeal to me more. There's more variety, more interesting, composed dishes. Halfsteak largely takes steakhouse/comfort foods as a foundation, reframes these classics slightly, then scales them down in portion size. A smart formula, just not the most exciting one.

I wrote of my meal at D:FF that one could easily arrange a balanced tasting menu from the menu provided. This isn't so much the case at Halfsteak. All the dishes are hearty, well-seasoned, but a bit heavy. There are no crudi, for instance. And while no single dish called out for acid specifically, the meal on the whole hit many of the same umami, salty notes over and over. Even when acid was provided, it was usually in the form of a creamy sauce, be it a cucumber raita, a chunky tartar sauce or a thick tomato-garlic vinaigrette.

As for what I ate specifically, we tried the sliders, lamb ribs, cod, tripe, brisket patty melt, halfsteak, and chicken-lobster pot pie. Just reading those dishes back to myself, I think "Tasty" but then, immediately after, "Heavy." Minus the salads--and who eats salads?--you can't really order a lighter meal.

Favorites were the cod, very, very tender; the pot pie, light on the lobster but technically extremely proficient; and the halfsteak, not the most tender cut but with some nice dry-aged funk on the bone. The tripe is a good dish, just very tripey. My friends, tripe virgins, weren't really turned onto the experience. I ate the rest of the plate with gusto, however.

Weakest dish was the order of sliders. Nothing wrong with them per se, just not that exciting. Truffled pecorino was a bit skimpy to my eyes and taste buds. Lamb ribs were a bit dry, as oakapple/NYJ reported, but served really, really hot, in contrast to what oakapple/NYJ reported. Luck of the draw it seems.

Really liked the beverage program. This is definitely beer food and trying two small beers for the normal price of one big one worked just fine for me.

Service was fine throughout, but the inability of the kitchen to get three items to the pass at once kind of frustrated me. At D:FF it's not so much an issue because none of the items are large enough to truly be called mains, so you really have to share and such. The same could be said of the small items here. But the sandwiches, halfsteak, and one-pots are main course-sized. If three people order three different items I'd expect them to be served to the individuals who ordered them, at the same time. I asked if this was possible and my request was denied.

All in all, I like the concept and think it should be successful. I'm still waiting to go back to D:FF, but I think one visit to Halfsteak was enough for me, if only because I can only eat so much of this kind of food.

[oakapple]

The comparison to Damon: Frugal Fridays didn't immediately occur to me, partly because D:FF is only on Fridays, whereas Halfsteak is every night. Taken on its own terms, I liked Halfsteak a good deal more than Bryan did, but I ordered only two dishes, the lamb ribs and the smoked chicken wings. That plus two half-pints of beer was only $20.

[weinoo]

The comparison to Damon: Frugal Fridays didn't immediately occur to me, partly because D:FF is only on Fridays, whereas Halfsteak is every night. Taken on its own terms, I liked Halfsteak a good deal more than Bryan did, but I ordered only two dishes, the lamb ribs and the smoked chicken wings. That plus two half-pints of beer was only $20.

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This is a good point. Not everyone orders like Bryan does - therefore, the rest of us might not feel the food is so heavy, especially if we're only having one or two dishes.

At that price point, it seems there's a lot of upside.

[Sneakeater]

Also, you can get in to Halfsteak.

Frugal Fridays are only for those who don't mind a long wait, or who can be somewhere at 6 on a workday.

Edited February 21, 2009 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

I've been thinking over your and my disparate responses to Halfsteak, Bryan, and I think I've figured it out.

If you're coming into New York for a meal, Halfsteak clearly isn't worth it (whereas Frugal Friday seems like it would be). But if you're already here, and you need dinner but don't feel like cooking and yet don't want to spend a ton, Halfsteak is sort of great.

This isn't "cheapened" food dumped on the market for its low price. Someone obviously is thinking very hard about how to make things interesting while keeping costs down. The fried tripe epitomizes this to me. What a great idea for a delicious, inexpensive, but interesting dish -- something that you don't see on every low-cost menu. And the whole Halfsteak menu is really like that.

I think I'm gonna be using this place a lot.

[BryanZ]

Don't get me wrong, I liked it. It's a very solid concept, but if I was choosing between D:FF and Halfsteak, I'd choose the former. If you order intelligently it is, however, a very good value, no matter how you look at it.

[Sneakeater]

They've got to serve later than 10 PM during the week, though.

[weinoo]

They've got to serve later than 10 PM during the week, though.

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You would think they will, if they have the business.

[oakapple]

Don't get me wrong, I liked it.  It's a very solid concept, but if I was choosing between D:FF and Halfsteak, I'd choose the former.

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For those of us who live here, the beauty is that we don't have to. We have both, and the city is richer for it.

They've got to serve later than 10 PM during the week, though.

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A little birdie told me that all of the restaurants in that area are having trouble attracting patrons at that hour. It requires a bit of a detour to get there, which not enough people are willing to do past 10:00 on a weeknight.

[Sneakeater]

I'm sure you're right, Oakapple.

[Eatmywords]

I wonder (now that he’s more famous than ever) how approachable Colicchio is. Has anyone had any recent interaction? Like if I mozied over and said we really love the show but this year’s contestants kind of sucked (except for Fabio and not for his cooking), would he engage me?

[oakapple]

I wonder (now that he’s more famous than ever) how approachable Colicchio is.  Has anyone had any recent interaction?  Like if I mozied over and said we really love the show but this year’s contestants kind of sucked (except for Fabio and not for his cooking), would he engage me?

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Even if he is approachable in general, he would probably be reluctant to discuss that issue with a stranger. For all he knows, it'll appear on Eater.com the next day: "Colicchio Agrees: "This Year's Cheftestants Sucked." He's a Bravo employee, and is surely contractually limited as to what he can say about the show. Now, if you asked him something about one of his restaurants—where he is the boss—you might have a better shot at getting an answer. Edited February 24, 2009 by oakapple (log)

[Sneakeater]

I wonder (now that he’s more famous than ever) how approachable Colicchio is.  Has anyone had any recent interaction?  Like if I mozied over and said we really love the show but this year’s contestants kind of sucked (except for Fabio and not for his cooking), would he engage me?

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He was sitting at the bar after dinner the night I went to Tom:Tuesday Dinner.

We had a nice long chat. (Not about his TV show, which I've never seen.)

Totally approachable.

The guy radiates authority, BTW. He just seems like he should be running a top kitchen.

[Eatmywords]

I wonder (now that he’s more famous than ever) how approachable Colicchio is.  Has anyone had any recent interaction?  Like if I mozied over and said we really love the show but this year’s contestants kind of sucked (except for Fabio and not for his cooking), would he engage me?

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He was sitting at the bar after dinner the night I went to Tom:Tuesday Dinner.

We had a nice long chat. (Not about his TV show, which I've never seen.)

Totally approachable.

The guy radiates authority, BTW. He just seems like he should be running a top kitchen.

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Would love to see the cliff notes of that conversation. Any harmless tidbits you care to share?

[Sneakeater]

Nothing really that interesting. We were chatting. I didn't really interrogate him or anything.

I mean, you know, you've spoken to Chang, haven't you? It's like that. You're just bullshitting for a while.

Edited February 24, 2009 by Sneakeater (log)

[Eatmywords]

Nothing really that interesting.  We were chatting.  I didn't really interrogate him or anything.

I mean, you know, you've spoken to Chang, haven't you?  It's like that.  You're just bullshitting for a while.

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Haha, yea right! I went to Noodle Bar one night, maybe a year after it opened, Chang was on the station in front of us. I said something like “Everything was great, incredible flavors. This is your place, right?” Chang looks up, with the straightest face, and says “no” and never looks up again. That was my Chang conversation. I’m positive yours with Colicchio was just a tad more interesting. Though, the Chang "denial" (as I call it) always makes for a good laugh. (Can I get a Ko reservation now, pls?)

[Timh]

What do you think is their threshold for banal repetative conversation ?

[oakapple]

What do you think is their threshold  for banal repetative conversation ?

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Part of hospitality is the recognition that, while it may be banal to you, it is the first time for the visitor.

[Sneakeater]

Nothing really that interesting.  We were chatting.  I didn't really interrogate him or anything.

I mean, you know, you've spoken to Chang, haven't you?  It's like that.  You're just bullshitting for a while.

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Now that I think hard about it, we talked at some length about the dinner that he'd just cooked and I'd just eaten, and then about his future plans for Tuesday Dinner.

What else would we have to talk about?

[Eatmywords]

What do you think is their threshold  for banal repetative conversation ?

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Part of hospitality is the recognition that, while it may be banal to you, it is the first time for the visitor.

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Exacto and normally, I’m not one to kiss ass/interrupt a chef. For some insane reason I got the inkling to pass a compliment. Plus he was right in front of us and it was the end of service (not busy). I’d say don’t build an open kitchen (a foot away from the diner) if you’re not ready and willing to chat with the common folk. Plus, this was less than a year into Noodle Bar, not the empire he reigns over now. (I still love the food and staff and would frequent any one of his places twice a week if I could).

[WK2]

We hit halfsteak tonight. Exactly as described above, a perfect place when you want a good dinner but don't feel like paying too much. I also don't want to eat huge chunks of beef, although I like it, so the six ounce portion was perfect. I have to say that I feel like the various appetizers and the desserts are kind of a waste of space. Two beers and a halfsteak seems like the right answer next time I visit.

I just wish it was somewhere more convenient. Ugh re: 10th avenue and 15th.